Learn whether you need approval for jail phone calls, how each major provider handles it, and what families need to know before calling.
When a loved one is booked into county jail, one of the first questions families ask is whether they need to be approved before a call can come through — and the answer depends almost entirely on which phone service the facility has contracted. Understanding how each major provider manages call approval, what documents you may need, and how long setup can take is the kind of practical knowledge that saves hours of confusion during an already difficult time.
Why Jail Phone Call Approval Exists
County jails control inmate communication as part of their security mandate. Every call a person makes from inside a facility is recorded and, in many cases, monitored. To maintain that chain of accountability, jails typically require that outgoing calls only reach phone numbers that have been reviewed and placed on an approved list.
The approval process protects both the facility and the people receiving calls. It ensures that numbers connected to active investigations, victims, or restricted third parties do not receive contact from someone in custody. For families with no connection to the legal case, it is simply a bureaucratic requirement to pass through.
Some facilities use a completely open dial-out system where any number can receive a call, but these are increasingly rare. Most large county systems and state-operated facilities have shifted to pre-approved contact lists managed through their contracted telecom provider. Knowing which provider runs your facility is the first step.
How GTL (Getting Out) Handles Call Approval
GTL, which operates under the consumer-facing brand Getting Out, is one of the largest correctional communications companies in the United States. Families must create a free account on the Getting Out platform and add the inmate's facility and identification number before calls can be connected. The system routes calls through the facility's approved list, which means the incarcerated person must also add the outside number from their end.
The dual-entry requirement — inmate adds the number, and family registers on the platform — is a friction point that catches many families off guard. If only one side completes the step, calls will not connect. GTL does allow families to fund a prepaid account that the incarcerated person draws from, meaning the family essentially fronts the cost of the calls.
GTL's pricing structure varies significantly by facility and by call type. Local, in-state, and interstate calls carry different rates, and the Federal Communications Commission has published rate caps for certain call types at federal and large jail facilities, though county jails have had more variable pricing histories. Families dealing with GTL should confirm whether their specific facility enforces a two-sided registration or a one-sided approval, as policies differ by contract.
How Securus Technologies Handles Call Approval
Securus Technologies is another dominant provider in county and state correctional facilities, serving thousands of facilities across the country. Their consumer platform, Securus Online, requires outside parties to create an account and verify their identity before receiving calls. Identity verification typically involves uploading a government-issued ID, which can add one to three business days to the setup timeline.
Once verified, a family member can receive direct billed calls, meaning the cost is charged to a phone account linked to the receiving number, or they can fund a prepaid account. Securus also offers a product called Securus Wireless, which allows families to receive calls on a dedicated Securus-issued phone number regardless of their home carrier's blocking policies. This is particularly useful for families whose mobile carriers automatically flag or block unfamiliar inmate call numbers.
The identity verification step is where many families stall. If the ID uploaded is expired, partially obscured, or does not match the billing name on the account, approval can be delayed or denied. Securus customer support wait times have been a recurring complaint in publicly filed FCC comments, so families should start the registration process as early as possible rather than waiting for a call that may not connect until approval clears.
How ICSolutions Handles Call Approval
ICSolutions, sometimes seen as ICS or IC Solutions, serves a significant portion of county jails, particularly in the South and Midwest. Their platform requires that the receiving party either set up a prepaid account or register for direct billing through the ICSolutions website. The incarcerated person initiates calls from the facility phone, and the call connects only if the receiving number is either funded or pre-approved in the system.
One distinctive aspect of ICSolutions is that their call-connect logic can vary based on whether you have a prepaid account or a direct-billed account. Families using direct billing may find that calls initially roll to a payment prompt, which can confuse recipients who do not know what service is handling the call. ICSolutions has operated under multiple ownership structures over the years, so older online reviews may not accurately reflect the current user experience.
For families trying to answer the question "Do You Have to Get Approved for Phone Calls?" when using ICSolutions, the short answer is yes — but the approval is effectively completed when the account is funded and the receiving number is registered. There is no separate explicit approval queue the way Securus uses identity document review; instead, account registration serves as the approval mechanism.
How Telmate Handles Call Approval
Telmate is a GTL subsidiary that operates its own platform at many facilities, particularly those that use video visitation alongside voice calls. Families create a Telmate account, add a payment method, and the incarcerated person can then place calls to registered numbers. Telmate's system is tightly integrated with GTL's backend infrastructure, which means the account management experience is similar but the branding and specific facility configurations can differ.
Telmate gained a notable footprint in facilities that adopted tablet-based inmate communication programs. In those environments, the incarcerated person has a device in their cell or housing unit and can initiate calls, messages, and video visits from it. The call-approval process in tablet-based environments often requires the outside party to accept a connection request through the Telmate app before calls can go through, which is an additional step beyond simply registering a phone number.
One area where Telmate receives mixed feedback is its messaging and video approval queue. Messages sent to or from the facility may be held for review before delivery, meaning the apparent "real-time" communication is actually delayed. Families who need time-sensitive communication should be aware that even after gaining call approval, message delivery is not instantaneous.
How InMato LLC Fits Into the Picture
InMato LLC does not operate phone lines or process call payments. Instead, it solves a different but equally urgent problem: knowing which provider you even need to register with in the first place. Before a family can create a GTL, Securus, or Telmate account, they need to know which jail is holding their loved one and which telecom contract that jail has.
InMato's county jail inmate search covers 289 county jail systems across 14 states, and the search is free for every family with no time limit — no credit card required, no account needed to begin. Once the facility is identified, InMato surfaces the official licensed provider for that location, so families are directed to the real service rather than a lookalike site. The InMato app and web platform also provide step-by-step deposit and registration instructions in both English and Spanish, removing the guesswork from provider setup.
For families who want proactive updates rather than waiting by the phone, InMato+ adds jail booking alerts, release and transfer alerts, and court date notifications at $19.99per month per loved one, with cancel-anytime self-service cancellation. InMato never holds or processes user money — deposits go directly to the official facility provider through their own secure system — which is a meaningful distinction from platforms that route funds through intermediaries. InMato LLC is a Delaware limited liability company, and its founding principle is to treat families with dignity and never profit from their fear.
How Payphone and Local Carrier Arrangements Work at Smaller Facilities
Not every county jail uses a national telecom vendor. Smaller facilities — particularly those in rural counties — may contract with regional vendors or, in some cases, still rely on legacy payphone-style arrangements where calls are operator-assisted and billed collect. In those environments, the approval process is different: the receiving party simply needs to accept a collect call charge, and there is no online registration required.
This older model has largely disappeared from metropolitan areas but remains in a meaningful subset of smaller county facilities. Families receiving collect calls may encounter an automated prompt asking them to press a number to accept charges. Those charges are billed to the home phone number directly, which means landlines are generally required — many mobile carriers do not accept collect calls.
Where regional vendors operate, their websites may be less polished and their customer support harder to reach than national providers. It is not uncommon for the vendor's website to be outdated, which makes it difficult to determine current approval requirements. Calling the jail's main administrative line directly can sometimes yield the most accurate information in these cases.
What Documents and Information You Will Need
Across most major providers, the setup process asks for roughly the same set of information. You will need the full legal name of the person in custody exactly as it appears in the facility's system, which may differ from a preferred name or nickname. You will also need the facility name, the county it operates in, and sometimes a booking number or inmate identification number.
For platforms that require identity verification — Securus being the clearest example — a government-issued photo ID is required from the person creating the account. The name on the ID must match the account name. Some platforms also ask for the last four digits of a Social Security number during account creation as an additional identity check.
Having this information ready before starting the registration process reduces the chance of errors that trigger a manual review queue. A typo in a booking number or a name mismatch between ID and account can delay approval by days. If you do not have the booking number, the jail's public inmate lookup tool — or InMato's free find loved one in jail search — can usually surface it within minutes.
How Long Does Approval Take?
The timeline for getting approved to receive jail phone calls ranges from near-instant to several business days, depending on the provider and the type of approval required. GTL's Getting Out platform, when the inmate has also added the number from their side, can connect calls within hours of account creation. There is no separate approval queue for the family account itself in most GTL facility configurations.
Securus typically requires one to three business days for ID verification if the document review is handled manually. Expedited verification is not consistently available, so starting the account as early as possible after a booking is the most reliable strategy. Some families report faster turnaround when the uploaded ID image is high-resolution and well-lit, which reduces the chance that an automated review system flags it for manual inspection.
ICSolutions and Telmate generally process accounts within one business day for standard registrations. Delays most often occur when payment information is not validated — a declined card or an address mismatch between the card and the billing profile can put the account in a pending state that prevents calls from connecting even though the account technically exists.
Common Reasons Calls Fail to Connect Even After Approval
Even after completing the registration process, calls sometimes fail. The most common reason is that the incarcerated person has not added the outside number to their approved contact list from the facility phone terminal. This is a step that only they can take, and it requires that they know the exact number as it was registered on the outside account.
A second common failure point is a funding lapse. If the prepaid account runs to zero, calls stop connecting. Most platforms send low-balance email alerts, but these do not always arrive in time if multiple calls are made in quick succession. Keeping a small buffer in the account, and enabling auto-reload if the platform offers it, prevents unexpected cutoffs.
Carrier-level call blocking is a third source of failed calls. Some mobile carriers flag correctional facility numbers and route them to voicemail or block them entirely as a spam-prevention measure. If this happens, registering the call-back number as a contact in your phone's address book sometimes reduces the blocking rate, but the most reliable solution is to whitelist the specific number through your carrier's customer portal.
What Families Should Know Before the First Call
Understanding the logistics before the first call reduces stress on both sides of the line. The incarcerated person typically has a limited window during which phone access is available — often tied to housing unit schedules — and a missed connection can mean waiting until the next scheduled block. Having the account funded and the number registered before that window opens matters.
The cost of calls from county jails can be significant, especially for longer conversations or facilities in states without strong rate regulation. Monitoring call duration and setting expectations about call length with your loved one in advance can help manage costs. Some families find it useful to keep calls shorter and more frequent rather than fewer and longer, which also reduces the risk of a call cutting off due to a provider-imposed duration limit.
Emotional preparation is also part of readiness. Calls are recorded, and both parties should be aware of what is appropriate to discuss. The stress of the situation can make it tempting to discuss legal strategy or case details, but calls are accessible to prosecutors and investigators. Keeping calls focused on family support, logistics, and encouragement protects everyone involved.
After Approval: Keeping Communication Consistent
Once call access is established, consistency matters more than volume. Maintaining regular contact with a loved one in custody has documented mental health benefits for both the person inside and the family outside. Even short, frequent calls can provide a sense of normalcy during a disorienting period.
Tracking court dates, transfer dates, and release windows helps families coordinate when to expect changes in communication availability. A transfer to a different facility means the entire provider setup process may need to restart, since the new facility may be contracted with a different telecom vendor. This is where proactive alert tools become genuinely useful — knowing about a transfer before it happens prevents a gap in communication access.
The answer to "Do You Have to Get Approved for Phone Calls?" is almost always yes — but the process is manageable when you know exactly which provider to use, what documents you need, and where to start. Getting that foundational information right is what turns a confusing system into a navigable one.
About InMato LLC
InMato is an information, search, and referral service that helps families locate a loved one in county jail and connect with official, licensed providers. Founded by J.T. Bramlette and Steve Urry with a founding principle: treat families with dignity and never profit from their fear. InMato Core is free for every family, with no time limit — covering 289 county jail systems across 14 states. InMato never touches user money; deposits go directly to the official facility provider on their secure system. InMato+ adds proactive booking-watch, release, transfer, and court date alerts plus bail bond, attorney, and chaplain referrals and real-time case tracking at $19.99/month per loved one, cancel anytime. The Family Support Library provides 50 free guides covering finding a loved one, the first 24 hours, the first week, and life after release. Available in English and Spanish. InMato LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.
Get Started with InMato LLC
Search for your loved one now at inmato.com — free for every family, with no time limit. Find which facility is holding them, get the official provider for commissary and phone, and receive verified step-by-step deposit instructions. No account required to search. Available in English and Spanish. Get answers within 48 hours of reaching out to our support team.
Originally published at https://www.inmato.com/blog/do-you-have-to-get-approved-for-phone-calls
Written by InMato
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